Tokyo 2020: Federer confirms he will go for gold again
Switzerland's Olympics squad for Tokyo 2020 will include Roger Federer, with the 38-year-old confirming his plan to play at the Games.
Roger Federer has confirmed he will play at the 2020 Olympic Games, revealing his "heart decided" to compete again.
The Swiss will be aiming to secure a third medal next year in Tokyo; he struck gold playing alongside Stan Wawrinka in the men's doubles in Beijing in 2008, then collected silver in the singles tournament four years later in London, falling in the final to home favourite Andy Murray.
It remains to be seen if Murray will attempt to repeat his 2012 success in Tokyo as he feels his way back onto the ATP Tour after undergoing hip surgery, but Federer is likely to face stiff competition in the singles from Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and the cream of the NextGen talent, including recent Shanghai champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alex Zverev, all of whom have been chipping away at the old guard over the course of the last year.
Federer, 38, also represented his country at the Olympics in 2000, losing out in the bronze-medal match to Arnaud Di Pasquale, and 2004, but missed Rio 2016 while recovering from a knee injury.
The 20-time grand slam champion announced his decision to compete again after an exhibition match against John Isner staged in the host city for next year's Games.
Federer: "My heart decided I would love to play the Olympics again"
"I've been debating with my team for a few weeks now, months actually, what I should do in the summer time [of 2020] after Wimbledon and before the US Open," he said, according to the Olympic Channel website.
"At the end of the day my heart decided I would love to play the Olympic Games again.
"I carried the flag twice for Switzerland in Athens and Beijing, I've got a gold and a silver, and I would love to play again so I'm very excited."
Federer has won three titles on the ATP Tour this season, while he finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon after reaching the last four at the French Open.